Latest news with #EmiratiCinema
Arab News
4 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Nayla Al-Khaja reflects on new film ‘BAAB' and Canon collaboration
DUBAI: UAE filmmaker Nayla Al-Khaja, a pioneering voice in Emirati cinema, has wrapped production on her second feature film, 'BAAB,' and is also taking part in a renewed partnership with Canon Middle East as part of the brand's 'See No Limits' campaign. In a conversation following the film's completion, Al-Khaja told Arab News 'BAAB,' set for release after the summer, marks a creative milestone in her career. 'It really feels like I found a language I enjoy in filmmaking, like my own artistic voice,' she said, highlighting its striking visual style and deeply immersive atmosphere. Compared to her debut feature 'Three,' she described 'BAAB' as a significant evolution in her storytelling and visual approach. 'Haunted by a mysterious rhythm after her twin sister's death, Wahida's journey to find answers pulls her deep into the mountains. As she unravels her grief, she descends into madness, blurring the line between reality and imagination,' the logline of the film reads. Her previous feature 'Three' played at Saudi Arabia's Red Sea International Film Festival and the Shanghai International Film Festival. She is also a frequent guest at the Cannes Film Festival and partnered with Oscar winning Indian musical composer and record producer A. R. Rahman on the score for her latest film. Al-Khaja continues to work in psychological horror, drawn to its emotional impact and the technical challenge of filming in low light. 'You feel like you are pulled like a magnet, pulled into a very ethereal, very haunting world… it is just so visually beautiful,' she said. The director is also working with Japanese corporation Canon on educational initiatives aimed at emerging filmmakers. As part of the 'See No Limits' campaign, she led a workshop for film students, emphasizing both the technical strengths of Canon's EOS R5 Mark II and the importance of narrative-driven visual decisions. 'Although you have the camera, if you don't know how to position it in sense of what your story is trying to say… how far can you push your own limit?' she said. Al-Khaja's collaboration with Canon began in 2011. Their latest campaign focuses on empowering female filmmakers across the region. While she notes there are still only a handful of women working full-time in the UAE film industry, she sees growing momentum driven by regional grants, commissions and the demand for streaming content. 'When I started, I didn't have a role model,' she said. 'It is good to know that you now have an older generation that you can reach out to.'
Khaleej Times
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
UAE: Time to teach cinema in classrooms, say Emirati filmmakers
Cinema classes should be taught in schools and introduced as part of the curriculum to instil a love of film culture in young people, according to leading Emirati filmmakers. Speaking at a panel discussion during the Arab Media Summit, Emirati director and writer Abdalla Al Kaabi emphasised that a lack of exposure to local stories and characters from an early age contributes to the limited success of Emirati cinema. He stressed the need for familiarity with homegrown cinema in schools to help shape a strong national film identity. "We need to embed the cinema culture all the way with different elements,' he said, adding that he has been calling for the adoption of an Emirati cinema class in schools since 2016. 'How is [cinema] not beneficial to the human mind that we're trying to build? Imagine the effect of that across schools in the UAE, in a matter of 5 or 10 years. But we have to start today," Al Kaabi added. "The panel session, titled 'Behind the Lens: Emirati Filmmakers,' took place on the second day of the Arab Media Summit, running from May 26 to 28. He said one of the biggest challenges young Emirati filmmakers face is the 'culture' surrounding UAE-made cinema. "We should have our own Emirati cinema. Our music doesn't look like American music. Our painters do not paint like Americans. So, we should also do that as Emirati filmmakers, but we have to start today," he urged. "I think we wasted a lot of time." Also present at the session were Hana Kazim, an Emirati producer and director, and Nawaf Al Janahi, an Emirati director. Al Janahi, who is the director of the award-winning short films 'Roads' and 'Shadow of the Sea', said that the reason why people do not see Emirati cinema as normal is because it is not embedded in the Emirati psyche. 'Why didn't they know? Not because nothing existed before that, but because there was not enough integrated into the psyche so that it becomes part of their awareness. 'I believe these kinds of clashes happen mainly because the society is not used to seeing itself on the screen,' the Emirati director said. 'It's not that they mind, it's just that they're not used to it,' he added. 'And we're still having this conversation until today.' He said today things are progressing, but 'it's not where it should be.' Kazim, who has also played a large role in the Emirati film movement and was involved in producing and directing several Emirati films like MAKR and AL KAMEEN, said, 'If we tell our own stories like there's a lot of stories set in New York, Berlin, etc., it attracts more people to come and shoot here,' She added, 'It's part of the soft power we have as a city, putting it in the hearts and minds of people who watch films.' The first Emirati film Although the Emirati film movement is a few decades old, with Emirati movies dating back to 1988, it is still a niche within Emirati society. Film scholar and communications professor Hania Nashef cites in her research paper that Emirati director Nayla Al Khaja said, 'There isn't such a thing as a film industry in the UAE; it's a film movement." The Emirati film industry is currently growing with the government's support, thanks to the introduction of film festivals throughout the Emirates, including the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, the Dubai International Film Festival, and the Sharjah International Film Festival. In 2024, the UAE Media Council announced that the UAE accounted for 30 per cent of the Mena region's cinema market share.
The National
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Meet the Emiratis making movies that take place entirely on computer screens
From horror to drama, comedy to action, Emirati filmmakers have tackled many genres to expand the scope of UAE storytelling on screen. The latest genre to captivate the nation's creatives is at the cutting edge of visual storytelling: screenlife. What is screenlife? It is a format that take place entirely on computer or smartphone screens. The viewer follows the story, seeing what the character sees, such a WhatsApp chat, a Zoom call, or a Google search. Films such as Unfriended, Searching and Missing have popularised the genre. They were all produced by Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov, a pioneer of screenlife. Teaming up with Image Nation Abu Dhabi, Bekmambetov created the Screenlife Accelerator Programme, a competition in which budding UAE directors and screenwriters sent their scripts and treatments for a chance to be selected. Once picked, these scripts will be polished by Bekmambetov and his team to be produced into major motion pictures. The first winners of the programme were announced at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. Among those selected were Abdulbaset Qayed and Afra Al Marar, two Emirati filmmakers. The pair told The National of their plans for their films, and discussed Emirati cinema. Al Marar, a screenwriter from Abu Dhabi, says she was encouraged by friends to apply to the programme. Having completed multiple courses with Image Nation, she recalled a script she had written for a found-footage film and decided it could be transformed into a screenlife script. Al Marar's film, Hidden Melodies, follows Abdullah, a music composer who receives a song project file from a famous singer. Just 15 minutes later, the singer dies. The file holds clues that lead Abdullah to uncover a human trafficking ring. Qayed, a filmmaker from Dubai, says he had been writing scripts from a young age. After studying a different field in the US, he drifted away from writing. During the Covid-19 pandemic, his mother encouraged him to write again. He says: 'I started writing fiction again, especially horror. I'm a big fan of the found-footage subgenre. Within two weeks, I had a 70-page script. I began entering competitions, and some people really responded well to my work. That motivated me to keep going.' Qayed's screenlife script is titled The Disappearance. Inspired by a trip he took to Oman with a friend, the film follows Omar, a popular Emirati influencer who investigates crimes on his YouTube channel. 'One day, Omar gets a call from Nada – a woman whose husband went missing on a trip to Oman. The police gave up the search. Omar starts investigating using videos from the trip and sees something abnormal – something supernatural,' Qayed says. He and Al Marar say making screenlife films presents an opportunity to tell stories differently. Aside from requiring smaller budgets than more traditional film formats, Al Marar says screenlife films offer a very personal and immersive experience. She adds: 'We spend so much time on our devices [that] we're used to seeing screens and interpreting subtle cues from them. During the pandemic, we got even more comfortable peeking into people's lives via Zoom, so the format feels very natural now, especially to younger audiences.' Being part of the accelerator programme, she says, opened her eyes to using screenlife in projects she was already working on. 'As someone who directs commercials and corporate films for government projects, this experience shifted my mindset,' she says. 'Now, I even think about how to apply screenlife techniques to those projects. For example, instead of traditional filming, I might show a corporate announcement through a screen recording. It's opened up a new creative lens for me.' The pair believe there are many talented people in the UAE who need to find avenues to securing funding and screening for their films. Al Marar says she and Qayed are part of a generation that had the film festivals in Abu Dhabi and Dubai to look forward to, but newer generations do not have that space to screen their films any more. She adds: 'I post a black-and-white photo every October 1 from the old Abu Dhabi Film Festival. We miss it. That's where we watched new films, attended workshops and met international filmmakers like James Cameron, and Bollywood stars.' 'That's a key part of the ecosystem. We need champions to bring back strong festivals. Dubai International Film Festival was a powerful platform,' Qayed says. He also says filmmakers should not wait for festivals to happen again to put their films out. Films need to be written for new and different audiences around the world, he adds. 'We should aim to create content that resonates globally. When I write, I don't write only for Emiratis. I write with universal themes, so people from anywhere, even Brazil, can relate,' Qayed says. Al Marar says filmmakers should learn from the screenlife genre and be more nimble. Instead of waiting for grants to produce and market their films, they should find innovative ways to raise money so they can be active in an ever-shifting film landscape. 'We come from a culture where we've relied a lot on government grants, but we need to start shifting that mindset – towards private investors and self-sustaining projects,' says Al Marar.
